THE EDGE OF SILENCE
1198 Words
He knocked again—louder this time, the sound echoing down the narrow hallway of her apartment floor.
Still nothing.
His heart thudded once. Hard.
"Katie," he called, pressing his ear to the door.
No footsteps. No rustling. Not even the sound of the TV.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and called her.
One ring.
Two.
Three.
Voicemail.
He cursed under his breath and tried again. Still no answer.
A cold rush of fear slid down his spine.
This wasn't like her.
She should've answered by now—if only to yell at him, to tell him to leave her alone. Anything would've been better than this... silence.
He pounded on the door one last time. "Katie!"
Nothing.
He stepped back.
And kicked the door.
Once. Twice.
The lock gave way with a violent c***k.
Yannis pushed into the apartment, his heart in his throat.
The lights were off. Curtains drawn.
And then he saw her.
On the floor beside the couch.
Unmoving.
"Katie—!"
He was on his knees in seconds, pulling her into his arms. Her skin was warm but clammy. Her hair stuck to her cheek, damp with sweat. Her breathing was shallow, lips slightly parted.
Beside her—
A half-empty bottle of pills.
No. No no no no no.
"Katie," he whispered, shaking her gently. "Katie, wake up."
Nothing.
His vision blurred. His chest clenched so tightly he couldn't breathe. "Don't do this to me. Please don't do this."
He scooped her up in his arms and bolted for the door, dialing emergency services as he carried her down the stairs, shouting at the operator before they could even finish their greeting.
"She's not responding—I think she overdosed—yes, yes, I'm on the way. Just be ready."
⸻
The Waiting Room
Time didn't pass.
It bled.
Every second in the hospital waiting room was a new form of torture. The pale walls, the sterile scent of disinfectant, the distant beep of machines behind closed doors—he was trapped in a place where control didn't exist, where money meant nothing, and where the one person he couldn't lose was on the edge of vanishing.
Katie.
The nurse had taken her from his arms the moment he burst through the ER doors, shouting her name, begging someone to save her. Doctors descended like angels in blue, and then they were gone. Swallowed behind sterile white doors with the woman he couldn't stop seeing—motionless, pale, her head slumped against his chest as he'd whispered promises into her hair.
"Don't you dare leave me. Please. Please, Katie..."
He didn't sit. He couldn't.
He paced the length of the corridor like a caged animal, every muscle in his body coiled and ready to snap. His phone buzzed nonstop—calls from Milly, Adrian, and now even his mother—but he didn't answer. Couldn't.
He had just sent Adrian a message telling him what was happening, now everyone was calling him but he didn't want to talk to them.
Not until he knew.
Not until someone told him she was going to be okay.
A nurse passed by, and Yannis lunged forward. "Is she—? Do you know anything?"
The woman looked up, startled. "Are you her...?"
"I brought her in. I'm the one who found her."
She softened, nodding slightly. "The doctors are working on stabilizing her. The tox screen shows a heavy intake of sedatives, but she's breathing. That's a good sign."
He almost collapsed.
"Can I see her?" he asked, desperate.
"Not yet. But when they move her to recovery, I'll let you know."
Yannis nodded and stepped back, hand dragging through his hair.
He leaned against the wall and slid to the floor.
And that's when the tears came.
He didn't cry when his favorite pet died. Didn't cry when his company was under siege. Didn't even cry when he realized he no longer loved the woman he was set to marry.
But this?
The idea of a world without Katie's laugh... her smart mouth, her shy glances, the way she held everyone together like the quiet glue of the universe—this was unbearable.
He buried his face in his hands and sobbed.
Because no matter what came next, no matter how much hell he had to face for what they'd done...
He didn't want to live in a world where she didn't exist.
⸻
The hallway had grown quieter. Still no word.
Yannis sat slouched in the waiting room chair, head resting against the cold wall, the ache in his chest growing heavier with every breath. The scent of antiseptic was nauseating now. He hadn't moved in over twenty minutes.
Then came the click of heels.
The elevator doors slid open with a low chime.
He looked up—and froze.
Adrian.
Behind him, all seven girls. Milly, Hannah, Louisa, Aria, Wendy, Andrea, and Alina. They came like a storm—tension trailing them like electricity in the air. Some looked furious, some scared, others utterly broken. But they were all here.
Adrian's face was grim as he stormed toward him.
"What the hell happened, Yannis?"
Yannis stood, slowly.
His voice was hoarse. "She didn't answer the door. I called and she didn't pick up. I kicked it in."
"And found her with pills?" Louisa hissed, her voice thick with sarcasm.
"She was unconscious," Yannis said quietly. "I brought her here. They're trying to stabilize her now. She took a lot"
Milly stared at him like he was a stranger. Her makeup was smudged, her eyes red and puffy. She looked like she hadn't slept since the night of the party.
"You did this," she whispered.
Yannis opened his mouth—but Adrian stepped in between them, hand up. "Stop. This isn't the place."
"So we are supposed to feel pity for her now?, after what she did to Milly?. Pathetic". Aria spat.
"She was hurting," Yannis snapped, losing control. "She lost her so called friends within a matter of hours because of -."
"She was happy until you touched her!" Milly shouted.
The hallway went silent again.
Yannis looked at her—really looked at her. "Was she?"
Milly faltered.
Adrian turned to the nurse's station as a nurse sat typing away. "Is she awake? Can we see her?"
The nurse behind the desk checked her screen, nodded. "She's in recovery. Room 218. One at a time, please."
Milly took a step forward, but Adrian gently grabbed her arm.
"I think I should go in first."
"What?" Louisa said. "Why you?"
"Because she's probably terrified," Adrian said. "And unlike the rest of you—I didn't abandon her."
That stung. The group went still.
Yannis locked eyes with Adrian as he passed.
"Tell me the second she opens her eyes," he said.
Adrian didn't answer. He just walked down the hall, his shoulders stiff.
And Yannis sat back down, the girls all taking seats far from him, their silence louder than anything they could've said.
But in his heart, he already knew—Katie might have been alone when she swallowed those pills. But she wouldn't wake up alone.
Not this time.
- Writer
